Find balance with One Soul

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  • One Soul Yoga Studio began inviting everyone to yoga classes Monday with local instructors (from left) Allison Martin, DeAnna McDearmont, Leah Conner, Clay Pirtle and Rachel Finney. Staff photo by Jillian Smith
    One Soul Yoga Studio began inviting everyone to yoga classes Monday with local instructors (from left) Allison Martin, DeAnna McDearmont, Leah Conner, Clay Pirtle and Rachel Finney. Staff photo by Jillian Smith
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Yoga studio opens with classes for all levels

Body

Relaxation. Focus. Exercise. Balance.

Those who participate regularly in yoga claim these four things are among the top reasons to practice, that the benefits far outweigh the misconceptions many have about what yoga actually is.

Five area residents have come together to build One Soul Yoga Studio, a new studio not too far from downtown Sulphur Springs.

DeAnna McDearmont, 46; Allison Martin, 52; Rachel Finney, 45; Leah Conner, 46; and Clay Pirtle, 43 are hoping to bring awareness and the practice of yoga to all of Hopkins County.

“It was very serendipitous. It was everything just falling into place and happening really easily, all of us wanting to do this and all of us having a passion to do this, but not really knowing what we wanted to do or how we needed to see that vision happened,” said Conner.

When the group first met in May, Pirtle was the only one who was certified to teach yoga and had been running Muddy Lotus Yoga out of a local gymnastics studio. Everyone else needed to complete their 200 hours certification before teaching.

“The four of us had certain things to do in our training. One of the things was to take so many yoga classes and workshops, and we were struggling trying to find places to go that were here,” McDearmont said. “I think it made all of us realize how much there was a need in this area for something like this.”

One of the benefits of all five teaching at the studio is that there isn’t just one style of yoga, teaching or personality.

“When we picked the name for the studio, we were all kind of coming together … to unite different faiths and different types of people in the community. … People can go in our meditation area and pray. It’s not just one thing; we’re uniting everybody in one space here to do what they feel like is right for them,” McDearmont said.

And that includes dispelling stereotypes about yoga.

“Most people have this notion that if you Google yoga, it’s going to pop up with pretty, young, white females in these impossible positions. That’s the perception people have, and nothing is further from the truth. It’s accessible to everyone, but I don’t think that everyone knows that,” Finney said.

The studio promotes a come-one, come-all philosophy with opportunities for people of all ages, experience levels, whether male or female.

Martin is even offering a beginner’s class for people who have never experienced yoga.

“It lets people come who have never been around yoga, have no idea what it is, and maybe they’re a little scared of it,” Martin said.

With their soft opening this past Monday, they have already started bringing in guests for special events, like the upcoming Tibetan singing bowl workshop with Kenny Kolter of Dallas. Participants will learn how to play the singing bowls, about their history and uses with Kolter’s 30-plus bowls he will bring in as part of the demonstration. The class will be 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. and has a $40 registration fee.

One Soul Yoga instructors will also help to lead Yoga on the Square, which, Pirtle said, in inclement weather, instead of canceling, they now have somewhere to go to have the class. Yoga on the Square takes place on Celebration Plaza in Sulphur Springs at 9 a.m. through the end of September.

To celebrate their soft opening, One Soul Yoga Studio is offering discounts on regular classes through the end of September. For a full listing of scheduled classes and pricing, go online to One Soul Yoga Studio’s website at https://www.onesoulyogastudio.com or find them on Facebook @ OneSoulYogaStudio.